One of the more outspoken AA FA's (he's been blogging for a while, though technically not as an AA employee) has landed himself in a heap of trouble thanks to a couple parody videos about the new contract offers.

Unfortunately, while I like Gailen, the videos are completely against any sort of social media policy. Now, if he had done a few things differently (like having Bobby doing them), there would be nothing that could stand up in any formal hearing as even if he did an article about them, it could easily be argued as reporting the news. I hope they don't come down too hard on him, as his national platform could do some nasty PR damage to the company.

Without getting into the minefield of employer/employee relations, I did love the "Aluminum Lady" sketch. Not only was the video entertaining, I am a sucker for the Playskool little people planes. It was one the first toys that I remember playing with as a kid and I think that it help to lay the groundwork for my flying addiction!

Being publicly critical of your employer (biting the hand that feeds you?) is rarely a good idea.

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In fact, it's usually a bad idea...at least at the moment it is. LOADS of cases goihng through courts on both sides of the pond of employees utilizing Youtube, Facebook, etc. to air their concerns. Whilst many disgruntled employees are being supported in their "rights" to "free speech", employers are also being supported in their enforcement of media- and public-facing policies.

There is no such thing as "free speech" when it comes to the interaction between an employee and an employer. That pesky first amendment applies to the government taking action, not corporations. It is a PR mess in which neither side is 100% right nor wrong, but it certainly isn't a constitutional law discussion.

Quite honestly, he deserves this....employment is a 2 sided equation. One side can always terminate it for whatever reason they can come up with.....better yet, let the FA say his/her piece, but then let the airline perhaps discuss just how good this employee is or isn't in a public forum. Maybe release their job performance evaluations...... That would be fair.

At-will employment is a doctrine of American law that defines an employment relationship in which either party can break the relationship with no liability, provided there was no express contract for a definite term governing the employment relationship and that the employer does not belong to a collective bargaining group (i.e., has not recognized a union).​

Otherwise there would have been no hearing with Union representation. In my (and many other) companies the likely consequence might have been termination without further discussion or hearing.

If you want to talk about your workplace in public, be smart and think about the consequences before opening your mouth or hitting "publish" on that blog post.

Regardless of how funny (or possibly accurate) the videos are, in contentious cases like this, it all comes down to the policy and the meeting about it. The meeting would have included a review of that policy, a review of the employee's signature to several things, inclusive of their understanding of it, agreement to adhere to it, and an understanding of the consequencues of failing to do so. The meeting would have continued with a discussion of whether or not that policy was violated, and if so, what action the relevant/HR-related disciplinary policy would prescribe. If the outcome of the meeting is appeal-able, that possibility and the procedure for doing so would be reviewed as well.

The question is not solely the content of the videos, but whether or not policy was breached in this manner of "sharing" them.

If I had to guess, the whole episode is just a plan to drive more people to his blog etc. and jettison the whole "grunt" part of his work (you know... actually serving people on a flight).

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Well, he already makes more from his other projects than as a flight attendant anyway. If anything, because of that fact, he has the comfort in being able to make these videos for his friends because he does not need the job. He has positioned himself to be able to offer the feelings of the flight attendants in a way that most are not able to due to fear of job loss.

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